Holy Fire

I've had a thing for Foals ever since an intoxicated Jimmy Smith told me that they had "the biggest dicks on tour" in a 2010 interview for Pages Digital. The Oxford boys have just dropped their third album 'Holy Fire'. It's more of what you'd expect - and by that I mean they've changed tack again and presented something you probably weren't expecting. The album opens with a pretty amazing prelude and continues to defy pigeon holing from there. Second track Inhaler seems to be a bit of a throwback to the rock era, while third track My Number is a D-Floor burner. Highly original, and as always, highly listenable. Get in.

Things That Make You Feel Ill

Chet Fakers Beard

Hot Tip: Peace

Birmingham boys Peace are causing quite a stir in the blogosphere with their debut EP Delicious. Expect an album later this year and listen to this

Things You Need to Know About: Alt-J

If your first knowledge of tomorrow's Alt-J performance at the Metro was the full page ad in your lightly pissed-on copy of Drum Magazine this morning you're about as on the pulse as me. And seeing as tickets were sold out BEFORE the 9:00am release time (sign up with Frontier Touring to pre-order in future) this will not be a review of the gig, rather a list of things you should know and casually drop about the band whenever possible.

1. Alt-J are hot right now. 
2. They are from the UK
3. When you hit Alt-J on a Mac you get a triangle symbol - that's how the band got their name
4. Their debut album is called 'An Awesome Wave' - it's their only album at this point (May 2012)
5. The guitarist is called Gwil
6. 3/4 of the 4 piece band were fine arts students at Leeds University
7. Joe Newman's (guitar/vox) voice is captivating, the songs are clever in both lyrics and composition.

An Awesome Wave will dump you into deep waters of emotion - well worth a listen. 'Matilda' is a stand out track. If you missed them at Laneway and don't have a ticket for tomorrow's Metro show you're out of luck for the time being - more time to study lyrics for their next visit.